Mark Howe - Gordie Howes Son: A Hall of Fame Life in the Shadow of Mr. Hockey

To Travis, Azia and Nolan. Hearing what wonderful and caring persons you are will always be my proudest honor and greatest award.

MH

To Mona and her passion.

JG

Contents

Foreword by Wayne Gretzky

As a kid, I had Gordie Howes autographed picture on my wall, wore an authentic Red Wings Number 9 jersey on my back, and even had my hair cut exactly like his, down to the little bald spot. So when I had a chance to meet my idol at age 10, it could have gone one of two ways: either an unreal feeling or a feeling of disappointment.

For me, it proved to be one of the greatest days I ever had as a child. Gordie was bigger, better and nicer than I had even imagined. Before that Kiwanis Club banquet in my hometown of Brantford, Ontario, he told me, Kid, keep practicing that backhand, something I never forgot. And when they called on me to speak and I was so scared I started to cry, he bailed me out.

Gordie whispered to me, Say, Im sorry, Im lost without a pair of skates, and walk off. But once I got up there, I couldnt even remember that. So he came to the microphone and said, When someone has done what this kid has done, he doesnt have to say anything.

He proved as gracious to me that night as I thought he was graceful on the ice. While everybody, including me, was in awe of how tough he was, that wasnt what this skinny kid was trying to emulate. I had been watching how incredibly good he was as a passer, stickhandler and shooter. And now I was able to see what a tremendous person he was and what a role model he could be for me.

I got to spend more time with him when he came to visit his youngest son, Murray, my teammate in Junior B hockey in Toronto. Over the years, Gordie and I became good friends.

My dream to play a game with him came true at age 17, when I was selected to the World Hockey Association All-Star team for a three-game series against Moscow Dynamo. When they gave me a jersey that was way too big, Gordie took me into the trainers room and actually sewed it himself so that it would fit better.

Jacques Demers, the coach, told me I was going to center Gordie and his son Mark. Playing with Gordie was one of the few things in my career that made me nervous. But again, he knew just the right thing to say.

Boy, Im really nervous about this game, I said to Gordie on the bench. He half-yawned and said, I am too, and it cracked me up and calmed me down. The three of us combined for 10 points in the first two games of the series, which we swept. Playing with him remains one of the greatest thrills in my hockey career. And how many people can say they centered two Howes?

I first saw Mark play for the Detroit Junior Red Wings when he was 15 and clearly the best player on the ice, even against 18- and 19-year-olds. He won an Olympic medal at age 16, the youngest hockey player ever to do that.

There are people who say Marks natural talent might have been greater than his dads. I know he was the only player I ever saw be an All-Star defenseman in the WHA one year, and then the next year be one of the leagues top scorers as a forward.

Mark had a lot of points in the NHL, too, and there is little question he would have scored more had he thought the Flyers needed that from him. In the two Stanley Cup finals Edmonton played against Philadelphiaincluding the one in 1987 when the Flyers took us to game sevenMark was the ultimate team player, as smart as he was quick and skilled.

The Howes are a tremendous family and I was truly blessed to have had the opportunity to play with and against them. As I became lucky enough to zero in on some of Gordies records, he and his wife, Colleen, were always there and fully supportive.

To this day, I tell my family and friends that Gordie Howe is the greatest player who ever lived. And Ive been fortunate to be friends with the nicest superstar you could ever know!

Enjoy the reading. Im sure you will love learning about Gordie, Mark and the entire Howe family.

Wayne Gretzky

Prologue

Gordie Howes Number 9 continued to hang in the rafters of Detroits Olympia Stadium even as my dad resumed his career in a rival league and returned to the NHL in the uniform of another team, the Hartford Whalers.

So when I played the final three of my 22 seasons with the Red Wings, and the Number 2 I had worn with Philadelphia already was taken in Detroit by my good friend and former Flyers defense partner Brad McCrimmon, I put on Number 4. That was the Detroit number of Hall of Famer Bill Gadsby, whose family was best of friends with ours. I had always worn Number 9 with the Detroit Junior Red Wings, who had the same uniform as the Red Wings, but Dad, of course, took Number 9 when we played together in Houston. When I came to the Red Wings, I never even considered asking for it.

That thought had crossed the mind of but one person, the only one who could deem it appropriate. But the idea came to him too late.

I dont know if you remember this, Dad, or not, I said during the last thank-you of my Hall of Fame induction speech on November 14, 2011. Just after I retiredand the key word is after I retired16 years ago, you mentioned that you wished I had worn your Number 9 for the Red Wings for one game. Your timing was pretty bad.

You have never asked me for anything in your life. So I would like to honor your request at this time on a much bigger stage.

I reached into a bag and pulled out a Number 9 Red Wing jersey, which I put on over my tuxedo jacket. I not only became the fourth son of a Hockey Hall of Famer to be inducted, but also every son thanking a father for support, sacrifices and, most of all, the pride he felt in his child.

We are called Hockeys number-one family. But before a filled Allen Lambert Galleria at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and a national television audience in two countries, I hoped my gesture could strike a chord with any viewers family. At least I know I moved my dad as he swallowed the lump in his throat and walked to the stage to shake my hand.

Im not going to thank you for being my linemate for six years, I said in my speech. I am not going to thank you for elbowing the guy who may have taken a dirty shot at me.

I am not going to thank you for being the greatest hockey player ever. I want to thank you for being the husband, the father and person that you are. You are the role model by which I tried to live my life. I am so proud to call you my dad.

Dad, I love you.

1. Gifts from Mom and Dad

I first realized I had a famous father when he would take me places and everybody wanted his autograph. But I just thought that was normal. For as long as I remember, Gordie Howe has been my dad more than Mr. Hockey.

Interviewers have asked, Whats it like being Gordie Howes son? Ive always assumed it was no different than being anybodys son who grew up in a loving, supportive family.

Of course, I felt differently the night he scored his 545th goal to pass Maurice Richard for the all-time lead in the NHL. I was eight years old and the cheering at Detroits Olympia that nightNovember 10, 1963seemed to last forever. I remember thinking, Wow, Im the only person in here who can say, Thats my dad!

A wealth of pride, however, was the only wealth into which I was born. In the 50s and 60s, not even being the planets best hockey player translated into big dollars. When I came into the world on May 28, 195515 months after my brother MartyGordie Howe, the star of the Stanley Cup champion Red Wings, earned a salary of $10,000. Thats worth $86,000 today, when the minimum NHL salary is $525,000.